Just another day in Paradise

Woke up in a very different environment this morning.  I had little brother staring at me at the end of the bed. "Good morning, buddy".  "Hi Lolly, do we eat?"

As I blearily looked at the clock and realized it was 6:30, I thought, Welcome to your second motherhood.

I told him to go lay down for a little while longer while I got a shower and wait for everyone else to wake up, and when I finished with my routine, he had woken "the beast", also known as "Lovely."

She looked extra special this morning after her benedryl induced hard sleep.  Hair was straight out, distrust still all over her face, and as I jiggled her bed and teased her with "Good morning sunshine", she just glared at  me.   I thought.... "Oh crap, here we go again".

I just talked to little brother and we went in the kitchen where he declared, "I LOVE some pancakes", so pancakes it was.   Asked lovely if she would like some, to which she surly replied, "I don't eat here".   CRAP.  More CRAP.

I just ignored and continued to mess with little brother who delighted me more by the second.  In the advent of cooking smells in the air, my 6 foot tall teenager lumbered into the kitchen, yawning and smiling, "PANCAKES?"

Then from the front room, "I want call my mom".   OH CRAP.

Continue eating pancakes.  "I want call my mom".   For.the.love.

Called mom.  Phone disconnected.   Could feel the tension escalate more.   Crap!

Called sister.  "It too early, why you call me?"....  "WHERE"S MY MOM"??

This kid has been the peacemaker, peacekeeper, problem solver, translator for this family her whole life.  What's her role now?

I had a small visit with her about the expectations and how we needed her to try to eat, and try to do her best to get along with me, and reinforced how happy I was to have her and little brother there and that it was my job to do the worrying, and it was their job to be kids.  Phone rings, it's mom.   Praise To the LORD.  The new rule is one call a day,  so the worry of needing to be the one to call and check and control and take care is taken off her very young shoulders.

One hour later, phone call is over.  Mood seems somber, but level.

Let's go shop.  WOW.

The girl LIKES to shop.  Little brother likes to climb in racks. I watch my surly little grouchbag turn into a butterfly in front of my eyes.   Prayers covering us.  The trip to the mall is a huge success.

Now to stop 2.  I figured going to Walmart would be a nightmare.... not even a blip... kids didn't ask for ONE THING.  We had our list and we stuck to the list.  No whining, no asking, no begging, just happy to be there.

We got home and there were Target sacks on our porch, from a fellow foster mom, who dropped off a SANTA drop for my lovelies.  PJ's, Undies, socks, colors, marshmallow gun, stickers, and a BINDER for me to keep all the stuff from my lovelies organized.  (Who thinks of that????)   Wow, i am blessed with some dandy friends.  And the kids???  Well they were ridiculous.   "I've ALWAYS wanted new underwear. These SOCKS are so cool  Can we eat these marshmallows"   Christmas in November.

Lacey, Kip and her friend Brandon, Hallie and her b/f Wyatt all come over, and after a shower and slipping in her new clothes, a new Lovely has appeared in the place of surly stinkbomb.  I watch in amazement as she charms and loves on Lacey.   A wii tournament ensues and I am further amazed at my reticent lovely, doing the MC Hammer, and shaking her groove thing to the sounds of "It's raining Men".   My heart starts to beat.

Little brother gets me in a headlock and tells me, "Lolly, you're my friend".  (said with an accent which even gains him more points)

By now, my lovely is poking fun at Wyatt (You like Hallie?  You think she hot?). (His braces freak me out) after Lacey explains that braces will be worn by most of her classmates and that it is to get straight teeth, she walks up to Wyatt and tells him, "Boy, I bet your teeth are going to be so straight".  Oh boy.

They are playing in the backyard with the basketball and it goes in the neighbors yard.  Lacey and Lovely go to retrieve and the neighbors french bulldog runs out to greet them.  He licks her right on lovely's leg and on the way home she exclaims to Lacey, "I didn't like that sausage nugget licking my leg".  She's fitting in more and more.

She eats pizza with everyone (she had a few bites of Macdonalds for lunch, so she's not starving to death) declares grammie's strawberry cake "Delicious" and only has a moment's pause with Lacey during the course of the evening, "I can't call my mom" and they get to visit about it.

I'm still sitting here amazed at the turn of events today.  She was sitting in the chair, singing along with the DVD of Camp Rock, and I just wonder at the difference a day, and a little brother...make.

He is played out, having played sooo hard with Wyatt, and sleepily hugs on my waist and tells me, "Lolly, they so mean to me at shelter, they hit me, and this is good place, you are my best friend in Norman."......and when I didn't think my heart could expand another inch.... a little voice from the chair next to me pipes up.... "Me too".

Refined by fire.....that's the life and triumphs of a foster mom.